Trump Appoints David Sacks as White House AI and Crypto Czar, Signaling Shift in U.S. Crypto Policy

Trump on Thursday named Sacks, an early PayPal executive and venture capitalist, to lead efforts on both artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies, promising a legal framework that would give digital currencies the “clarity” they have long sought. The move, along with Trump’s recent nomination of crypto advocate Paul Atkins to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, marks a departure from the stricter oversight approach seen under the Biden administration.

“David’s appointment is a strong move,” said entrepreneur Elad Gil, an investor in Airbnb and crypto platform Coinbase, in a post on X. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also congratulated Sacks, underscoring the tech community’s optimism. Industry participants say the new U.S. stance could spur investment, innovation, and broader adoption of digital assets.

Bitcoin’s surge past $100,000 on Wednesday — its highest level on record — came as investors bet that Trump’s embrace of cryptocurrencies and the naming of a pro-crypto SEC chair would cement the technology’s place in mainstream financial markets. Trump, who once disparaged crypto as a “scam,” campaigned on making the United States the “crypto capital of the planet” and accumulating a national stockpile of bitcoin.

“David has had somewhat of a hands-on approach to crypto over the years,” said Matthew Dibb, chief investment officer at cryptocurrency asset manager Astronaut Capital. “He appears to be a lot more technically and commercially competent regarding crypto than most would think.”

Investors said they expect Sacks to pursue relatively light-touch regulation, focusing on guardrails for critical applications rather than heavy-handed rules on technology itself. Steve Jang, founder of Kindred Ventures, who has co-invested with Sacks in AI and crypto startups, predicted that Sacks would concentrate on how AI is deployed in sensitive areas, rather than the underlying model development. This echoes the industry’s pushback against previous regulatory attempts, such as California’s unsuccessful SB 1047, which sought broad oversight of AI models.

Sacks, 52, is a co-founder of venture capital firm Craft Ventures and considered part of the “PayPal Mafia” — a cadre of early PayPal employees that includes key Trump allies Peter Thiel and Elon Musk. Musk, Tesla’s CEO and head of AI startup xAI, will serve as co-lead of the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), named after the popular cryptocurrency.

Sacks’s track record includes founding the business social network Yammer and serving as chief executive of HR software firm Zenefits. He has been a vocal proponent of bitcoin since at least 2017, when he described its rise as ushering in “the decentralized web or the internet of money.”

By establishing a dedicated crypto advisory council and aiming to streamline policy, Trump’s administration appears set to deliver the long-sought framework industry leaders say is essential for the United States to remain a global leader in emerging technologies.

“David will likely have a light touch on regulation, but not without some guardrails,” Jang said, summing up the industry’s cautious optimism. “It’s a step towards ensuring the U.S. remains the most innovative and thriving crypto market in the world.”